Snow Way Out! A Heart of True Warmth
by Shadowwolf08
Summary: What if Misty had found Ash during the blizzard in the episode of 'Snow Way Out? How will these two lovers in denial stay warm during such a terrible blizzard til' daybreak? What conversations will ensue? AAML Fluff!


**Hello, people! :D I'm back with my third fanfiction. YahooRileySecret, and Hoenn Master, I have accepted your fanfiction requests. If you look on my profile, you will find my upcoming fanfictions in the order that I will be doing them. YahooRileySecret, since you put your request in first, yours will be done first. It will be my next fanfiction. I'm really delighting in all the positive feedback I have been getting. :) You guys keep me writing. I love to hear that you are enjoying my stories, so if you like my stuff, let me hear it! :D Feedback is what keeps me going. I am really enjoying being on fanfiction, and I've made some great friends, so keep the requests coming, and I'll keep writing!**

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, I do not own Pokemon :(

**Summary: **What if Misty had found Ash during the blizzard in the episode of 'Snow Way Out!'? How will these two lovers in denial stay warm during such a terrible blizzard til' daybreak? What conversations will ensue? You'd be surprised what a little cold can do. As Ash is about to find out: What seems impossible may not really be so when you have your best friend! AAML Fluff!

**Ages: **Ash: 11

Misty: 13

Brock: 14

Snow Way Out! A Heart of True Warmth

"Pika," the electric mouse Pokemon, Pikachu, muttered as another blast of cold air entered the snow-cave, causing his trainer to shiver violently again.

By now, Ash was fighting sleep. Even with his Pokemon for warmth, he knew that it was still too cold for him to risk falling asleep in the icy fortress he had made for himself. What he needed now was another human to keep warm, and Pikachu knew it. If only Misty and Brock had made it through too.

"Gah!," Ash shrieked as another chill ran up his spine.

He was still sitting in front of the hole that had been blown through his make-shift door, and was SERIOUSLY beginning to regret it. Try as he might, however, the eleven year-old could think of no other alternative. Shivering once again, the boy cursed himself for not having packed warmer clothing.

_A good Pokemon trainer is ALWAYS prepared_, he thought almost miserably. Truth be told, he was so disappointed in himself. How could he have let Pikachu get blown away by the wind like that?

Ash glanced down at his electric friend. He was currently still hugging his leg for all his little body was worth. Poor little guy. He must be positively freezing, yet, he still refused to leave his side for the warmth of his pokeball.

"I'm sorry, buddy," Ash stated, resting his hand on Pikachu's head.

"Pika!," Pikachu returned sharply. He knew that Ash was blaming himself for their current situation. He could only keep hoping that, at any second, Misty and Brock would find them.

"I'm getting really sleepy. What about you guys?," Pikachu heard Ash say, gaining the attention of his other Pokemon.

"Bulba!"

"Squirtle!"

"Charman!"

"Pidgeo!"

Ash giggled lightly at the indignant replies he received from his Pokemon. He knew that he really shouldn't fall asleep, but he also knew that he couldn't last much longer.

"Pika!," Pikachu shouted, hugging Ash's leg tighter to keep him awake.

Pikachu knew good and well that the situation that they were in was not a particularly pretty one. Something told him that he had to keep Ash awake at all costs, or at least until help arrived. He was nearly ready to give up when he heard a distant sound through the hole that his master was currently still attempting to block.

"Ash!," a voice called, though it was nearly indistinguishable through the driving wind.

"Pi?," Pikachu questioned, his ears ticking forward as he struggled to hear through the howling wind.

Ash must've heard the voice as well, because he quickly turned to glance at he hole with a questioning gaze.

"Ash! Where are you?," the voice called again, a little more desprite this time.

"Pikachupi!," Pikachu cried excitedly as he jumped onto his master's head, clearly recognizing the voice now.

"Misty?," Ash questioned. Was he hearing things?

Ash shook his head. He couldn't be hearing things. Pikachu had apparently heard her too.

"Pikapi! Pika Pikachupi!," Pikachu shouted again, gaining the boy's attention.

"You're right, Pikachu. That's got to be her, but I don't know if she'd be able to even hear me over the wind," Ash replied as he chewed his lip lightly, trying despritely to come up with any sort of plan. It had been a miracle that he had found Pikachu earlier when he had called out for him. That was it!

"Pikachu! That's it! Misty won't be able to hear me over the wind, but maybe she WOULD be able to hear you!," Ash exclaimed.

"Pika!," Pikachu nodded as he jumped off of Ash's head. Anything to keep his master from freezing.

"Pikachu, you're our only hope, okay," Ash replied as gave the electric mouse one last hug.

"Pikachu!," Pikachu affirmed before slipping out of the hole in the door, and into the icy cold.

Misty was beginning to panic. Maybe she should have listened to Brock after all.

"Ash! Can you hear me?," the red-head shouted once more, her eyes darting frantically back and forth.

It was growing increasingly hard to see through the driving snow. She had long since lost track of Ash's footprints.

_I'm gonna get lost too if I'm not careful_, Misty thought to herself as she pulled the green blanket she wore closer to herself. "Please, Ash. Please be alright."

Misty was struggling against the wind now, barely able to maintain her footing. "How in the world did Ash make it this far? Or, did he even come this far? Ugh! I'm all turned around now."

"Pikachupi!," the Water Pokemon trainer heard a shout off in the distance, muffled by the howling wind.

With a sharp gasp, Misty dashed off in the direction of the sound. Where Pikachu was, she could only pray Ash wasn't far behind.

_Ash Ketchum, you better be alright!_, Misty thought as she picked up her speed, smiling to herself when she could just make out Pikachu's tiny form about a yard away. The teen let out a frightened yelp when she felt herself trip on a rock concealed beneath the snow. Tumbling to the ground, Misty barely registered her hand coming in contact with something hard and sharp hidden under the snow.

"Pikachupi!," Pikachu shouted in alarm as he rushed over to his master's fallen friend. The last thing he needed was for Misty to be hurt. Without her, his trainer would surely be lost.

Misty slowly sat up, wincing at the sharp pain that shot through her hand. Looking down, the red-head noticed a red stain in the snow. It was then that she realized the gash in her right hand. She barely heard when Pikachu came to a stop next the her, now kneeling, form.

"Pika chu pi chu, Pikachupi?," Pikachu questioned, letting out a rather frightened squeak when he noticed the blood that stood out so drastically against Misty's pale skin.

Shaking her head lightly to clear her muddled thoughts, Misty turned the nearly hysterical Pokemon. "It's gonna be okay, Pikachu," she soothed lightly. Even though she was in pain, she couldn't let Pikachu know it. It simply wouldn't help matters if he was fretted any more than he already was.

Pikachu had never seen blood before, let alone a human's. Misty could only imagine the terror that the little electric mouse must be feeling.

"Pika chu!," Pikachu replied frantically, hopping up and down in front of the girl.

"Never mind me, Pikachu. Where's Ash?," Misty returned, hoping to get Pikachu to focus on the more pressing matter at hand.

"Pi chu!," Pikachu replied as he pointed somewhere off behind him. Misty could only guess that it was the direction he had come from.

"Okay, Pikachu, you're gonna have to lead the way. We need to get out of this storm, and fast," Misty urged as she stood up, collecting her backpack and blanket.

"Pikachu!," Pikachu replied, saluting Misty in an obedient military fashion before darting off into the snowy night with Misty following right behind.

Misty's heart nearly stopped when Pikachu stopped short of a steep cliff, peering over.

"Pikachu? Don't tell me that Ash is down there!," the red-head stated frantically, her heart taking a painful leap when the electric Pokemon nodded.

"Pika, Pika!," Pikachu called down the cliff, waiting for any reply.

"Bulbasaur!," came a loud reply, causing Pikachu to smile in relief.

Bulbasaur had been Pikachu's only hope for getting up the cliff to find Misty in the first place, so they would definitely require his assistance to get back down.

Misty bit her lip lightly. Why hadn't she gotten to him sooner? Maybe if she hadn't argued with Brock, she would've been able to gotten to Ash more quickly. She shook her head. Now wasn't the time for regret. She could only hope that he was still alright.

_If Ash's Pokemon are here_, then he has to be okay, the teen assured herself.

"Pika! Pikachupi!," Pikachu called, gaining the girl's attention once more.

Misty cautiously inched closer to the edge, and peered over. She could make out Bulbasaur's waiting form at the bottom.

"Bulbasaur! I think we'll need a little help getting down!," Misty called to the grass dinosaur.

"Bulba!," was the grass-type's reply.

Misty smiled lightly when she saw Bulbasaur's vines extend up to them. Picking Pikachu up, and holding him close to her chest, Misty allowed Bulbasaur to gently lower them to the ground using his vine-whip. Once on the ground again, the girl gave a sigh of relief, and a grateful smile.

"Thanks, Bulbasaur," Misty praised, giving the grass-type a well-deserved pat on the head.

"Bulba!," Bulbasaur replied happily before leading the way back to the cave where Ash waited.

Ash was beginning to get worried. Pikachu should've been back by now, right? How could he have sent him out in the storm alone?

"Pikapi!, a voice shouted excitedly, snapping the boy from his thoughts.

Ash jumped up as Pikachu squeezed through the hole in the door.

"Pikachu! You made it!," Ash beamed as Pikachu dove into his out-stretched arms. Trainer and Pokemon were interrupted, however, when Bulbasaur came crashing through the door, creating a hole big enough for a human.

"Bulbasaur! You're back too!," Ash exclaimed happily, kneeling down to give him a pat on the head.

"Bulbasaur, Bulba!," Bulbasaur replied laughingly, causing Ash to laugh as well.

"Honestly, I can't leave you alone for two seconds without you getting into trouble, can I?," came a sarcastic voice, drawing Ash's attention away from his Pokemon.

"Misty! Boy, am I glad to see you," Ash smiled brightly as he stood back up.

"You better be," Misty replied with wink.

A gust of blizzard wind blew into the cave, causing both humans to shiver violently.

"W-we n-need to s-seal off the door again before we freeze!," Ash shouted, his teeth chattering.

Misty gave the boy a sympathetic look.

"Don't worry, Ash. I got this one. Staru, I choose you!," Misty replied as she threw a pokeball into the chilly air.

"Hiya!," the sea-star replied as it emerged from its enclosure.

"Staru, use your water gun to seal this cave," Misty directed. " The blizzard will freeze the water, and turn it to ice," she informed at Ash's questioning look.

_Why didn't I think of that?_,Ash thought with a rather dejected sigh.

"Good work, Staru. Take a nice rest," Misty praised as she recalled the water-type back into the pokeball.

"T-thanks, Misty," Ash stuttered as another shiver of cold swept through him.

Misty turned to him with a small smile. "Don't get used to it," she teased.

Ash rolled his eyes as he sat down against the wall of the cave. "Oh, haha."

Misty gave a warm smile when she saw Ash's Pokemon begin to crowd around him again. "Your Pokemon sure are keeping you warm."

Ash smiled up at her as Pikachu resumed his usual spot in Ash's lap. "Yeah. I tried to get them to go into their pokeballs so that they would be warmer, but they wanted to stay out here with me."

Misty chuckled as she walked over and sat down beside him to his left. "Well, I could've told ya that. Your Pokemon love you, Ash."

Ash gave a warm smile as he began to stroke Pikachu's soft fur. He looked up when he felt a soft fabric being draped around his shoulders.

"Here, we'll be a whole lot warmer if we share the blanket," Misty murmured in response to the boy's questioning gaze. Fighting back a blush, the teen looked away. _Take it easy, Misty! Honestly, it's not like he likes you that way._

The pair fell into a comfortable silence, occasionally exchanging glances before blushing and looking away. Neither one seemed to know quite what to say, or whether to say anything at all.

"Brock's probably really worried by now," Ash murmured after a while, subconsciously leaning further into the girl. When had Misty become so warm?

Misty nodded lightly. "Yeah. I feel kinda bad about running off, but...," she trailed off, quickly stopping herself from finishing her sentence. Now definitely wasn't the time.

"But what?," Ash questioned as he turned to her. It was then that he noticed the injury on Misty's hand. "Misty! You're bleeding!"

Misty glanced down at her hand briefly. It was throbbing like crazy from the cold air, but she wasn't gonna let Ash know that. The last thing she wanted was to look weak in front of Ash. "Oh, this? It's nothing. I just fell in the snow," she replied mildly, gently resting her hand on her lap.

Ash's eyes widened. "Nothing? Misty, you're BLEEDING! That's not nothing!," he protested.

"Pika!," Pikachu agreed, crawling over into Misty's lap.

Misty winced as Pikachu began to lick her wound clean. Pikachu's sweetness never ceased to amaze her, then again, never did Ash's. She glanced over at said trainer out of the corner of her eye. He was staring at her now with a rather worried expression on his face.

"I'm fine, Ash, really," Misty assured, "Thanks, Pikachu."

"Pika," the electric mouse murmured as he finished cleaning the wound, grimacing at the foreign metallic taste.

Ash was, for lack of a better word, astounded. Misty had not only trailed after him in a blizzard, against Brock's wishes, but she had also gotten injured in the process. Had Misty always been so reckless when it came to him? It was in that moment that the first inkling appeared in the boy's sensitive heart. Misty pretended not to care about him, only to prove otherwise time and time again. When he took the time to really think about it, Misty had actually risked her life.

_All this time, I thought she hated me...but that can't be true. Not after what she did tonight_, Ash thought with a small smile. Glancing beside him at the Water trainer, he found himself staring once again. _Wow! Has she always been this...p-pretty? Why haven't I noticed that before?_

Misty shifted slightly as a sudden chill swept through her. She had been out in the snow too long. More than likely, she would have a cold come tomorrow. The teen grimaced. A cold definitely wasn't on her to-do list. The girl gave a soft sigh, at least she had found Ash. She cracked a small smile. At least she was warmer than what she would have been. Perhaps taking her hair down would help?

Ash felt his breath catch in his throat as Misty reached up, undoing her hair-tie. Her hair gently fell around her shoulders, causing the girl to sigh slightly. Ash could count, on one hand, the number of times he had seen Misty with her hair down, and the sight never ceased to mesmerize him. When her sisters called her a runt, it HAD to be a joke. There was NO way that Misty was runt!

_Now if only someone would convince HER of that_, Ash thought almost sadly.

Misty had never thought of herself as very pretty, simply because no one ever told her so. Her sisters were constantly calling her names, so after a while, Misty had simply become accustomed to the insults.

Ash swallowed nervously. Could HE tell her that she wasn't what her sisters portrayed her to be? Would she even believe him?

_Probably not_, the boy surmised, _I've called her scrawny more times than I can count_.

Ash hung his head. True, he had been just as insulting as her sisters, if not more so.

"Are you okay, Ash?," Misty murmured, snapping the boy from his thoughts.

Ash jumped slightly, a blush quickly making its way across his cheeks. "I, uh, was just thinking is all," he replied quietly, avoiding any eye-contact.

Misty, recognizing the embarrassed gesture, smirked slightly. "Oh, yeah? Well, don't hurt yourself."

Ash finally looked up at her, glaring slightly as he folded his arms tightly across his chest. "Oh, haha," he replied sarcastically.

Misty giggled lightly as she reached over, and snatched his hat off his head, ruffling his hair. Misty knew how attached he was to his hat. He practically never took it off, but she couldn't help but find him rather cute with it off.

"Hey! Give me back my hat!," Ash pouted as he attempted to retrieve his lost treasure, causing Pikachu to fall off Misty's lap. The electric mouse quickly scampered over to the far corner of the cave, where the other Pokemon were currently resting.

After a few more minutes of playing keep-away, Misty tossed the hat back it its rightful owner.

"What were you thinking about anyway?," Misty questioned as Ash placed his hat back in its rightful place atop his head.

Ash froze for a moment, a blush filling his cheeks once more. "Uh, well, It's just that, I'm sorry about all the times I called you scrawny. I only did it to mess with ya. I didn't mean for you to take it seriously," he finally replied as he looked away, suddenly feeling overwhelmingly ashamed of himself. Why had he even said those things if he didn't mean them?

Misty simply stared at him. Ash Ketchum apologizing? Ash hardly EVER apologized to anyone. The red-head simply didn't know what to say. She suddenly felt an overwhelming rush of adoration for the boy. Blushing, the teen looked away.

"I'm sorry too...," Misty murmured quietly, finding the fact that they were currently wrapped up together under a blanket extremely distracting. "I...don't really mean a lot of what I say," she continued, jumping slightly when she felt Ash's arm around her shoulders.

Ash held his breath. Why on earth was he hugging her? At any moment, he expected her mallet of doom to come crashing down on his head. Instead, however, the girl timidly rested her head on his shoulder in response. Ash quickly released the breath he had been holding. At least she wasn't yelling at him. Not to mention that her hair was probably the softest thing he had ever felt in his life! Why hadn't he noticed such things about her before?

_Probably because I never paid enough attention_, the boy concluded with a soft sigh.

Misty was thankful that Ash couldn't see her face at the moment. Why was she acting like this all of the sudden? It was then that Misty was reminded that they were alone together. Except for the Pokemon, they were completely on their own. Could she really give in that easily? The teen bit her lip lightly. Ash's attention had really been all she ever wanted, right?

Misty's thoughts were interrupted when she felt the boy holding her shiver violently.

"Ash, are you sure you're alright?," Misty questioned in concern as she looked up from his shoulder.

Ash lifted his head to reply, only to find himself face-to-face with Misty, literally. With only inches separating their faces, both trainers froze. It wasn't that they had never been this close to each other before, heavens no, but on all the other occasions they had been arguing.

It was in that moment that Misty made her decision. She could no longer pretend that she had no feelings for the brown-eyed boy. She wasn't sure if it was simply the cold, or if it was that she was weak. Either way, the girl refused to let the moment slip away. Leaning forward, Misty closed the small gap between them.

Ash's eyes widened in surprise as soon as he felt her soft lips against his own, and he vaguely wondered if Pikachu had shocked him without him noticing. When Misty gently placed her free hand on his jaw, however, his eyes snapped shut as a pleasant chill ran up his spine. Ash slowly reached his hand up to brush through her hair, shyly returning the kiss.

Misty thought for sure that her heart was going to explode. She wasn't quite sure what was wrong with her. She had never been so forward in all her life. All she knew now was that she was kissing Ash, and not only did he not seem to mind, but he was actually kissing her back! Misty deepened the kiss briefly, smiling when she felt Ash tremble lightly, much like she knew she herself was. When she finally pulled away a moment later, she opened her eyes to find Ash staring at her with wide uncertain eyes. Poor guy, she had probably confused him.

"Uh, wow," Ash finally managed to say, fighting back a blush when Misty giggled in response.

"I do really like you, Ash, even if I don't always show it," the red-head murmured, blushing when Ash tentatively placed his arm around her shoulders again.

"Uh, does this mean that you're my...girlfriend?," Ash questioned hesitantly. Man was that ever awkward to say! Ash had never really pictured himself having a girlfriend before. _Probably cause I hadn't met the right type of girl.._, he thought absently

Misty rolled her eyes. Boy, was he ever dense! "Yes, Ash," she replied sarcastically before resting her head back on his shoulder with a yawn.

Ash gave a wide grin. Was Brock ever gonna be surprised? Not to mention what his mom would say! As he gently rested his head against his new girlfriend's, he could help but feel that this night hadn't been totally horrible. After all, he hadn't spent the night alone. Plus, he managed to open the door to a whole new relationship with Misty. One that, admittedly, he couldn't wait to explore!

**Author's Note: There you have it! :) I really enjoyed writing this one. It got in my head, and just wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it. I actually think it may be the best one that I've written yet. If I get enough requests for it, I wouldn't mind continuing this one. Anyway, sorry I didn't have it up sooner. I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and stuffed yourselves full of turkey and ham! :D Feel free to comment and request! :) **


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